A CORNISH college has responded to safety concerns on its student buses after Cornwall Council was told a “serious accident is waiting to happen”.

Reform UK councillor Sean Smith, who represents St Cleer and Menheniot, took to the floor at a Cornwall Council meeting on Tuesday (November 25) to air his concerns about student travel to Callywith College in Bodmin.

He said: “Is it acceptable that 70-seater double decker coaches have up to 100 tickets sold at a fee of £850 per student? This causes over-subscription of seating capacity leaving students standing on aisles and stairs.

“Taking the route from Liskeard to Callywith College at Bodmin, students are regularly standing in the aisles and on stairs for the entire journey on the A38 through the Glynn Valley – one of the most dangerous roads in Cornwall. Is it acceptable on safety grounds, moral grounds or any grounds at all because from what I see it is looking like a serious accident waiting to happen?

“An accident that every one of us in this chamber may regret not taking action on and this completely contradicts Cornwall’s own road safety message.”

Cornwall Council’s Liberal Democrat cabinet member for transport Cllr Dan Rogerson acknowledged Cllr Smith had met with Callywith College to talk about the contract, which the college operates with the Stagecoach bus company. He stressed it was not arranged through Cornwall Council.

On the safety question, Cllr Rogerson said: “All transport operators are regulated and have to comply with that. I’m sure he has been raising any concerns he has with the proper authorities as well.” Cllr Rogerson said he understood changes were being made to the contract to provide extra capacity on the Liskeard to Bodmin route.

“In terms of how we work with the colleges, I think there is a lot more we can do. I have a meeting coming up with them when we will talk about bus services into the future, as obviously students use the commercial bus network and the subsidised council network as well as the chartered buses that the colleges operate. There is a lot for us to talk about.”

Cllr Smith responded that Cornwall Council subsidises students on the coaches he mentioned, so “we do have a duty of care to these students”. He said that Callywith College told him it would take 70 days to make the changes mentioned due to legislation. “Yet for 70 days students continue travelling unsafely on high speed roads.”

Callywith College, who have denied buses have exceeded their legal capacity, have responded to the concerns, saying the “safety and wellbeing of our students is our highest priority and we take all reports regarding transport capacity extremely seriously”.

The college says it is aware of pressure on seating availability on the Liskeard to Bodmin route and has been working closely with Stagecoach to monitor and address this.

James Church, strategic transport manager at Callywith, Truro and Penwith colleges, said: “To be clear, buses on this route have not exceeded their legal capacity. The vehicle used has a seating capacity of 78 and my on-bus observations show that student numbers are close to this level.

“At times, some students choose to stand rather than sit next to someone they do not know, even when seats are available upstairs. Drivers regularly encourage students to use all available seating, but they cannot compel students to sit as it a public service bus.

“However, we recognise that comfort and perceived safety are also important and for this reason we have worked with Stagecoach to increase capacity from January which by altering the route and assigning additional resource. We will continue to make adjustments where appropriate when concerns are raised.”

Mr Church added that introducing new vehicles or route changes involves legal notice periods, timetable registration and vehicle availability, which can take up to 70 days to implement.

“We asked Stagecoach to set the ball rolling with the changes to the routes on November 11, 2025. Due to the legalities these will come into effect on January 5, 2026.”

He said it was also “important to understand the wider context”. Post-16 transport is not a statutory service, unlike school-age transport, which means local authorities are not required to fund or operate these services. Colleges must therefore contract directly with commercial operators at full cost.

“Despite student contributions, the college still subsidises a significant portion of the transport budget to keep these routes running. To fully recover costs, a pass would need to be closer to £1,400, which would make access to education unaffordable for many students. Indeed, our student bursary scheme ensures that less than half of students who attend the college pay the full pass price of £850pa,” added Mr Church.

“This challenge affects all post-16 providers in Cornwall. As education is compulsory to age 18, we believe that transport for post-16 learners should be reviewed to ensure it is fair, safe, and accessible. While we understand the budget pressures on post-16 providers and Cornwall Council, we believe a more collaborative and consistent county-wide model is needed, one that standardises costings, centralises bursary processes and ensures travel is viable for students regardless of which college they attend.”

With the recent news of First Bus leaving Cornwall and a new operator taking over, Callywith College sees it as an opportunity to improve and streamline bus provision for students across the county.

“We are actively working with Cornwall Council, local MPs, the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce and other colleges, including Truro and Penwith, to make the case for a safer, more sustainable, and fair transport model for post-16 learners in Cornwall,” added Mr Church.